Hi-Line Living: Working and shopping at Sally Ann's

Matt Montagino walked into Salvation Army's Sally Ann Thrift Store, 23 years ago, and he has been working there ever since.

At the time, Montagino and his wife had just moved from Seattle to Havre and he was looking for a job.

"My wife and I walked in here and she said 'you can do this,' and I found that I could," he said.

Montagino said that, when he was growing up, his father was a hoarder, so he is used to having lots of items around. He said jokingly that organizing items in the store serves as therapy for him.

The store, though it operates as a separate entity from the Salvation Army Emergency Services Office, exists to generate revenue to cover the cost of operation for the center, Salvation Army Director Trina Crawford said.

The center provides services within the community that range from assistance for victims of fires and natural disasters to reintegration programs for former prisoners and people battling addiction and assistance for others in need.

Crawford added that the center also depends on the thrift store to give clothing and furniture vouchers to clients who can verify their income status.

"If we didn't have Sally Ann's, we wouldn't be able to provide what we have here on the emergency service side," Crawford said.

The name Sally Ann's came about because it has the same initials as the Salvation Army, Montagino says.

The store sells clothes and goods that range from furniture to home decor electronics, kitchenware, books, linens and toys among other items donated by the public.

However, Sally Ann's is not an average retail store; it is one that, like the Salvation Army, is guided by a deep Christian faith.

Montagino said that while the Salvation Army operates the store, he and the employees believe it is God who owns it and lets them use it to carry out his work.

"We believe God is present in our store every day," he said.

Evidence of that belief is on display each day from the Christian music played over speakers in the store to free Bibles made available to people.

A sign hangs in the store that says "God blesses this store and so do you daily."

Montagino said he and other employees are also willing to pray with people.

He added that he believes God also has a hand in what is donated to the store and when.

"It's incredible because, as the seasons change, we receive the blankets we need, we receive the winter clothing we need and also, in the summertime, we receive the summer clothes we need ... and the summer shoes we need." he said.

Montagino said he has also prayed with customers.

He said one episode from two years ago sticks out in his mind. A man whose life was in crisis and who had little more than faith in God came into the store.

The two prayed together. Montagino then called an area pastor, who gave the man something to eat and put him up in a motel.

Montagino said one of his favorite parts of his job is the people he works with. Sally Ann's typically has about six or seven employees, he said.

Employees take items that are dropped off, sort and price them, size and hang clothes, put merchandise out in the store, work at the cash register, assist customers, organize items and perform janitorial duties.

People who work at Sally Ann's come from diverse backgrounds and have been with the shop for varying lengths of time, Montagino said.

Betty Jo Baker, a cashier and assistant store manager, has been a store employee for 14 and a half years.

Before she became a store employee, she had worked at the Eagle's Manor and what was then TownHouse Inns.

Baker said she decided to make the switch to Sally Ann's partly because it offered her benefits, but also because she wanted a change of pace.

She never thought when she started that she would still have the job by now, and the for her it has turned out better than she ever thought it would.

"They are very good to me." she said. "If I need time off, they are very good about giving it to me."

Jerry Myrum began working at the store last December. He said that he found out about an opening at the store at the Havre Job Service. Before coming to Sally Ann's, he worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Havre.

The combination of interacting with customers and the fact there is always something to do are things Myrum said he enjoys.

"I like this job," he said,

Jackie Rencurel has worked at the store for nearly two years. She works in the back room sorting, sizing and pricing items, and sometimes works as a cashier at the front counter.

She said that she was drawn to the job because she likes how the Salvation Army helps people.

"I just like what they stand for," she said.

The short distance from the store to her apartment - a block away - is another plus about the job, Rencurel said.

Before starting at Sally Ann's, she worked as at Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods carrying out groceries for people and said jokingly that she was "the world's oldest carry out."

The climate at Sally Ann's, she said, is much less frantic and there are fewer people.

The repetitive nature of things can sometimes be one of the job's challenges, Rencurel said.

Nonetheless, she said, she just forges ahead and performs her duties.

“I just keep pushing on,” she said.

Montagino said that in their line of work, a certain level of trust is necessary.

Sometimes items brought in have money in them, Montagino said. Employees need to be trusted to come forward when they find that money and turn it in so it can be held in case someone comes back.

He added that he tries to make sure employees are comfortable in their working conditions and they have time off when they need it.

One employee has a 5-year-old daughter in the hospital. Montagino said he keeps in close touch with the employee and makes sure she knows that she she will not lose her job because her child is sick.

Montagino said that he recently sent the employee’s daughter some flowers along with a toy and balloon.

Though they do not get together outside work, Montagino said, sometimes at work they take some time together to share a snack like ice cream from Dairy Queen,

Baker said that, for her, the small crew that she works with are fairly close friends.

“We are there for each other. It’s just family,” she said,

She said that she feels like she can approach her co-workers, especially Montagino, with anything whether it be personal or work-related.

Baker said she often shops at the store, especially for books, of which there is a large selection in the store, adding that teachers from Head Start often come to buy children’s books for their classes.

“Sometimes they buy $25, $30 worth,”she said.

Clothes, though, are the most common items donated.

Many of the clothes, Montagino said, are in good condition, such as leather jackets and name-brand clothing items.

The store receives a fair share of vintage items whether clothing, furniture or houseware, but Baker said such items are bought up quickly.

“Anything unique goes fast,” she said.

One of the more unusual donations the store received, Montagino said, was a large bearskin rug.

The rug was put out in the store, but in a week was bought for by a customer for more than $200.

Baker said people donate items to the store because they want items to go to someone else who wants or needs them rather than throwing them away.

` All items are accepted, Montagino said, with the exception of dirty mattresses and ripped up furniture.

However, just because an item is donated does not mean it gets out onto the floor.

Some items, such as T-shirts that advertise alcohol or glorify drugs, conflict with the store’s Christian message and therefore are not put on the clothing racks or out in the store.

Other items are too tattered or dirty to put out.

Nothing, however, gets thrown away, Baker said

Clothes and other items that can’t be used are transported to Seattle and recycled.

“Anything we can’t use we send it out there and they fix it up and send it to other places,” she said.

The people who donate to the store either in the form of items given or money spent are what sustain it, Montagino said,

Without them, he said, the store would not exist.

Baker said that on a good day for business as many as 100 people will walk into the store. When weather is bad though, that number falls to about 30 or 35.

Montagino said customers are from broad cross-section of society, ranging from doctors and lawyers to cooks and fast-food employees to drifters.

Leah Trinder, a mother and truck driver from Laredo, said when she is not on the road, she often shops at Sally Ann’s. She said that she shops at the store as a way to help the Salvation Army help the community.

“It’s money that goes back into this place and they need it,” she said.,

She shops for clothes and oftentimes educational toys for her 2-year-old daughter,

Baker said the store has many regulars ranging from locals in Havre to people from out of town.

Jody Lambert of Chester said she has been shopping at the store for 10 years, adding that whenever she is in town she stops in.

“I am always looking for houseware and things like that” she said.

She said that she finds all kinds of neat things such as ’70s decor.

“I have kids who have their own apartments, so I am always looking for things for them,” Lambert said.

Out-of-staters also stop by the shop.

Baker said that working at the store has helped expose her to different types of people.

Students from Great Britain and Australia have stopped in the store

An artist who was walking across the country pulling a cart stopped in the store, Montagino said. After they provided him with a place to stay for two days, he painted two large murals on the store walls to show his gratitude.

Other people who leave an impression on workers are those who need help.

Baker said one time a mother whose house burned down received a voucher to get some things at the store for her children.

“She was so appreciative of what we had done for her, and really we hadn’t done all that much,” Baker said. “I mean, we gave her clothes but we couldn’t replace her house and stuff, but still she was so grateful.”

It is the people who come in, get help and are grateful that Baker said stay with her long after they leave the store.